Pathmanathan will be prosecuted under Sri Lankan laws: govt

"The issue of his being a Sri Lankan or a foreign citizen would not arise. He has to go through the legal process in Sri Lanka," Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has said.
Bogollagama described the arrest of KP as a major achievement and said it was achieved due to international support against terrorism.

Pathmanathan was arrested from a South East Asian nation on Thursday night and was brought here, Defence Affairs Spokesman Minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters.

Rambukwella assured that KP is in the custody of the defence authorities and will be dealt with according to the law of the land following investigations.

Meanwhile, a senior Sri Lankan official said that the Attorney-General will decide on the future course of action after investigations are completed.

"He may be a multifacet personality and has multi passports. But we will try him according to our domestic laws," the official said.

"Pathmanathan continues to be questioned by the Defence authorities," an official source said but refused to divulge further details.

"Still KP was active outside Sri Lanka. Our efforts from the ministry of Foreign affairs was to seek the apprehension of K Pathmanathan from the respective countries where we suspected his presence would be there.

"But due to our efforts through the intelligence network of Sri Lanka we were able to corner him accordingly and see that ultimately KP could be arrested and brought to Sri Lanka. When a crime is committed in a given country, the legal jurisdiction of that country would prevail on the suspect," Bogollagama said.

He said the Government and its intelligence service are capable of destroying LTTE activities anywhere in the world. "The arrest of KP witnesses the capabilities of our Forces and intelligence establishment," he said.

The Minister observed that the arrest of KP sends a strong message that the Government has the support of the International Community in combating LTTE operations abroad.

54-year-old Pathmanathan, who was named by slain LTTE supremo Velupillai Prabhakaran as the new head of the International Relations of the outfit in February, named himself as the LTTE chief after the death of Prabhakaran.

Pathamnathan is also wanted by Interpol in connection with the former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's assassination.

Meanwhile, Rambukwella said when the island nation was celebrating the victory against the LTTE, KP and his associates were working in the "backyard to regroup the LTTE by convincing the International community of its ability to re-emerge".